In Praise of Book Groups

Photo by Caio, from Pexels.com.

One of the many blessings of my life is my book group. I’ve been a member for six years, but this amazing collection of 12 women has been together much, much longer, probably about three decades, from the time several of them retired after years of teaching.

If you don’t already belong to a book group, hurry right out and join one or assemble one from scratch. Here are a few suggestions about how to make it work—and continue to work—for years:

1. Several of the women should have long-term, important connections. They already know each other well, and become the nucleus, inviting others to join as time goes by.
2. Limit the group to 12. Not all will come at any one time, but larger than that is unwieldy.
3. You will need a wheel horse. In my case, one of the women in the original nucleus makes the whole thing go. We always meet at her house, which prevents the confusion of shifting from place to place. She sends out email notices weeks in advance of the meeting, and informs everyone of the book chosen, usually at the prior meeting.
4. At the meeting itself, she leads the discussion, but one other member asks the key question. Yet another member provides a snack; the hostess provides water and iced tea. Meetings usually last two hours, in our case on Sunday afternoons.
5. There is no fee.
6. More complicated is the issue of choosing the books. These are serious, even challenging books across all genres, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Members suggest books they’ve read, a second reading happens, and then the book is either chosen by the group and put on the calendar or enters “the parking lot,” possibly for reading later. This system seldom promotes books that are not worthy.
7. Finally, the group is made up of dedicated readers who put real time into reading.

If this sounds a little grim, believe me, it is now! A wonderful sense of humor and lightness distinguishes my group. Sunday, for a discussion of my book Little Brother, we all wore hats—and how becoming they were, reminding me of the reason woman wore hats daily in previous generations…

Another possibility to consider.

In Writing